Cat Chat®

#225: Cat behaviorist Rachel Geller from All Cats, All the Time, suggests ways to replace unwanted behavior with something you want the cat to do that he will like better. Cat jumping on the kitchen counter while you’re preparing food and cooking? Give him a puzzle toy on the floor — or add an appealing cat tree near the kitchen with some treats on it - or tie a shoelace to your belt so the cat can play with it and interact with you without jumping up on the counter.

#224: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado says all cats need a safe place to retreat to, it’s an "environmental necessity.” Make sure your cat has options of private nooks and crannies to dash to when he’s feeling unsafe or overwhelmed.

#223: Zazie Todd's checklist from her book PURR says that the 3 rules for avoiding out-of-litter-box problems are: location, size and cleanliness.

#222: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado says if you offer the right toy[s] to your cat s/he might play alone with a racetrack style toy, a robotic toy, a few small toys to bat around or a wobbly weeble toy.

#221: Professional cat photographer Karen Hoglund says that the “sweet spot” for photographing a black cat is to place him at the edge of a sunbeam.

#220: Zazie Todd's book "PURR: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy," includes "scent as enrichment" on her "happiness checklist" — recommending you get toys with catnip, valerian, honeysuckle (that comes as a block of wood) and/or silver vine to discover which ones delight your particular cat’s amazing nose.

#219: Dr. Sameera Nalla discusses how being an intern at the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic in Maryland is taking her beyond a lifelong dream of being a veterinarian, taking her on her way to becoming a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, a small and select specialty group.

#218: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado talks about the dangers to a cat of any medication we put on our skin — pain relievers, hormones — and how your cat can wind up licking you or you can stroke and play with your cat and deposit some of the residue on their fur where they will groom it off.

#217: "Kitten Lady" Hannah Shaw talks about how she and her husband, Andrew Marttila, a distinguished professional cat photographer, created their book CATS OF THE WORLD to show us how philanthropic cat tourism can be a way for anyone to truly connect with like-minded citizens of the world who are looking after the their community cats. 

#216: Marlan Roberts, the Executive Director of Best Friends in New York City, talks about the 3-day adoption event Oct 12, 13 & 14 at the NYC Lifesaving Center in preparation for Best Friends being the beneficiary of the Premiere of the 6th Annual NY Cat Film Festival on October 15th.